Twins postgame: Slegers gets the start against Orioles

Aaron Slegers was in the running for a start a few times this season, but the Twins have gone with others, like Fernando Romero and Adalberto Mejia.

Now, he's getting his chance.

Slegers has been named their starter for Thursday's series opener against the Orioles.

Slegers, 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA for Class AAA Rochester, was called up on May 30 and pitched in relief against Royals at Kauffman Stadium. He gave up two earned runs over 51/3 innings after coming in for Fernando Romero, who was knocked out in the second inning.

Since returning to Rochester, Slegers is 0-4 with a 4.08 ERA in five outings.

The Twins needed a starter for Thursday after Mejia lasted just four innings on Saturday against the Cubs in Chicago. And Mejia was a sub for Romero, who was optioned to Rochester on June 24.

The 6-foot-10 Slegers debuted last season, going 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA in four games (three starts). He went 15-4, 3.40 at Rochester last season, earning the Jim Rantz Award as the Twins minor league pitcher of the year.

To make room on the roster for Slegers, the Twins optioned lefthander Gabriel Moya to Rochester.

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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.

Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.